Toyota has lost its long-term spot as the most popular car manufacturer around the world for the second year running. It sold 10.2 million vehicles during 2017, which was actually the third best of any light vehicle manufacturer.
Coming in first place was the recently-grouped Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, following the acquisition of the controlling stake in Mitsubishi late in 2017. The three major brands helped to combine a total vehicle sales figure of 10.61 million units. This was made up of 5.82 million Nissans, 3.76 million Renaults, and 1.03 million Mitsubishis.
Coming in second place, 2016’s top dog Volkswagen Group posted decent figures. It reported 10.53 million sales, which includes the sale of vehicles from brands such as Skoda, Porsche, Bentley, SEAT and Audi. Heavy vehicle brands owned by VW, such as Scania, are excluded. Volkswagen Group sold 10.3 million vehicles in 2016.
As for third-favourite Toyota, it sold 10.2 million vehicles around the world in 2017, excluding heavy vehicles from its Hino brand. Toyota passenger car sales are made up of Toyota, Lexus, Daihatsu and niche electric vehicle brand Ranz. Toyota matched its 2016 effort of 10.2 million.
Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi is looking to increase its overall figure to around 14 million vehicles by 2022. Thanks to its partnerships it’s able to build multiple vehicles on the same or similar platforms, sharing a lot of the major components. This will not only help the Alliance increase its scale of production, but also save costs in the process.
